Robber Flies, Dance Flies and Stiletto Flies (Asilidae, Empididae en Therevidae)
Actually Robberflies, Stiletto Flies and Dance Flies are not very closely related. Yet we deal with them on one page, for their life style is similar. At least the ones in this page behave similarly: they all hunt for other insects. Most of them do this in a way comparible to the way many Dragonflies are hunting: in flight and often returning to a favourite spot.
Robber Flies (Asilidae) are unattractive and in close up even scary flies. The body is very elongated and often they are quite hairy. Some species are very common in gardens. The family is also known as Assassin Flies.
Dance Flies (Empididae) often look like Robberflies, but the majority of them is black. The bigger species have a very impressive snout. The males catch a prey and dance with it in small groups around a female, hence the name of the family.
Stiletto Flies (Therevidae) are best known from one species: Thereva nobilitata. That is quite an attractive animal covered in blond, or golden, hairs. Actually very little is known about the other members of this family. Except for Thereva nobilitata only very few species turn up in gardens.
This page has last been modified on Wednesday, July 04, 2018.
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